jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

I’m looking for a relatively inexpensive hand-held light meter, primarily for use with my old film cameras. Any suggestions?

Photocraig

Hi John,
I'm not really up on the latest and greatest in light meters. But I have used meters with my film photography for a long time. In particular, there are two general types of meters. The Reflected Light type which measures light as it reflects from the scene. This is the most frequently used meter and is used in the in camera meters as far back as the manual SLR's and rangefinders. You have the option of choosing a meter that can measure the entire scene in front of it (like where you point it) and some meters (even the most modern in camera types) have a partial swelection and a spot selection. This is so you can meter the part of the scene you want to be exposed the way you visualize it. (notice I never mentioned and never will, "Correct exposure"). This is one of the few things in life that gets to be what YOU want it to be. The spot meters vary in the size of teh spot from a 1 degree circle to a 5 degree circle like most in camera spot choices. This allows you to isolate a tonal value and assign the exposure you want to it, and then determining where the other values "fall" into the whole exposure. This is useful, especially, in the Zone System and similar formulations which allow the photographer to preserve highlight detail and/or shadow detail. I find the spot meter useful for portraits when I want a particular facial feature, cheekbone, nose, etc, or clothing feature (wedding dress) to hold detail in a certain lighting situation. T'other type of meter is an incident light meter, and that meter measures the light falling on the subject (from the source) this eliminates the effect of light absorbing surface attributes like dark colors or heavy texture, or reflecting attributes like a polished surface, bright whiteness (snow) etc. You can identify these types because they have a translucent white dome over their sensor to avoid shadows and account for directional light. Many meters have the ability to measure BOTH ways by a switch selection and employment of the dome.

Another feature of these meters are that they MAY have the ability to trigger an electronic Flash and measure the flash lighting as it strikes the scene or subject. For flash photography this is an invaluable tool, and in particular, for studio and portrait work using flash lighting because a non flash meter and a normal human can't catch the exposure levels created by the tiny flash duration. Flash meters can be quite sophisticated and expensive.

I use an odd ball meter which is a reflected light spot meter, with a flash capability. I find it invaluable for my general work, landscapes and portraits. Not so much for street/travel where I rely on my in camera system and my judgement.

The brands I'm familiar with are Gossen and Sekonic. Many others here will correct my intro for the better. I mean it as a starting point.

I also suggest searching for a used meter at KEH, B&H, Adorama and other sources. Meters are the kinds of things that, while useful for the serious enthusiast, often fall by the wayside as they grow into DSLR's and all the fancy ketering included internally. Things to look out for. Older meters may have Selenium Cells (If I'm remembering correctly) which have lost their "whatever" that makes them work. Meters with mechanical needles as indicators can lose their proper adjustment. Meters fall out of calibration and need to be re-calibrated--if possible. It is important to check if a meter you want to buy is serviceable by the manufacturer or reputable shop. Also, as with old film cameras, old meters rely on the old mercury button cell batteries. Now there are replacement batteries available with some of them delivering varying voltages which will affect your readings. If you enter the used market, be sure to educate yourself on these issues. These are all good questions to ask with the folks at KEH, Adorama or B&H. Be sure to get a return privilege and test the meter with the correct battery as soon as you get it against known values like sunny 16 to start. Then test against your modern camera readings. Exposure is subjective. It varies from meter to meter. Many are adjustable and many have ways to "dial in" compensation. Mr Google should be a huge friend here.

Good luck with finding what works for you. It is essential that you choose a meter that fits your style of film photography. The latest Sekonic Studio Flash meter probably isn't the best choice for remote landscapes or available light architectural studies., but you could make it work for you if that's part of your activity beyond the studio. I believe all you learn about meters will refine your knowledge of exposure and be quite useful to your photography. Exposure is one of the creative variables you have at your disposal to express YOUR vision.

C

BebuLamar

I would recommend a Minolta Auto Meter III or IV as they are cheap (about $50) and accurate.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

I'd suggest used. The Gossen Luna-Pro (US) or Luna-Six (EU) was a oldie but goody. I have a Gossen Luna-Six right now. But be sure to find a Late model w/o the dreaded Hg Battery. The later Gossen Luna-Pro SBC is a better model anyway and all use "modern" batteries. Also the Pentax Spotmeter was popular. I also have and more often use a Minolta Spotmeter F (for ambient and flash spot readings). Though I'm not sure the flash reading works with modern flash units because with my meter the flash it tripped by a cord; it might not sync. Sekonic also made meters going way back.

wrangler5 Loc: Missouri

I liked the Sekonic Studio Deluxe for its battery free operation and convenient size. Although the Gossen Luna Pro Digital F does everything the Sekonic did plus read flash, in an equally convenient yet lighter package, using only a single AA battery.

waegwan Loc: Mae Won Li

I'll second that recommendation. I have a IV. It is very capable and easy to learn.

Don.Y Loc: East Ballina,NSW.,Australia

There are many lightmeter smartphone apps that you can download. Your phone becomes a lightmeter. I don't know how accurate they are but you could download one & test it out.

Largobob

Not sure of your definition of "relatively inexpensive," but I bought (bid and won) a Sekonic Multimaster L-408 used but in like new condition on eBay. Measures reflected, incident, cine, flash, etc. Relatively small, lightweight, weather sealed, and has lanyard and leather pouch. Takes one standard 'AA' battery. Seems to be very accurate. You may want to look on eBay for used meters in "mint" or working condition.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Gossen Luna Pro.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gossen-Luna-Pro-SBC-Light-Meter-w-Case-Strap-Excellent-Condition-TESTED/332790112596?hash=item4d7bd62154%3Ag%3AktoAAOSwISNbjH4b&LH_BIN=1

Or the CDS version which is slower in low light but cheaper but still an excellent meter.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gossen-Luna-Pro-SBC-Light-Meter-w-Case-Strap-Excellent-Condition-TESTED/332790112596?hash=item4d7bd62154%3Ag%3AktoAAOSwISNbjH4b&LH_BIN=1

ggenova64

Sekonic

Alafoto Loc: Montgomery, AL

Second that. Have used Auto Meter III for many years, mostly as a flash meter. Modern in-camera meters are so versatile and accurate that I find little use for a hand held meter in general photography. I do use a Sekonic one degree spot meter for landscapes since my field camera has no meter.

jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska

Don't overlook your smart phone. I have two apps that are surprisingly accurate compared to my Minolta IVF and my classic Pentax spot meter. The two I use are myLightMeter and Light Meter.

a6k Loc: Detroit & Sanibel

I have two of them on my iPhone 6s, one of which also reports color temperature. When I've tried to test them I've found it's hard to do but they seem to agree which puts the onus on the hardware and operating system instead of on the application.

Recently, on a clear day not long after solar noon at around 42 degrees north latitude I took some readings with the app that does color temp. I used a grey card, a white card and a card wrapped in Teflon plumber's tape (see posting about that on UHH). The white card and the tape produced identical results. I have also found that metering a clear sky at right angles to the sun or even with the sun at my back will usually produce the same reading as a grey card. That was true in this case, too.

The color temp that this meter produces is consistently around 5300 for the above circumstances and that's on a number of different days & times. I am leaning towards concluding that the meter is reading about 200 degrees low since most internet sources put daylight at 5500 degrees. I have no "known accurate" standard available.

Supporting the above paragraph is this: when I calibrate my monitor to 5500 degrees my meter says it's 5300. Again, I have no way to know if my SpyderPro is accurate or even producing the target result. That said, that's two independent measurements that are showing the same magnitude and direction of assumed error.

As for brightness, the most recent reading was showing about 2/3 stop brighter than EV 15 which is the commonly accepted standard for "sunny 16". I don't always get that result and there may be a reason. Most of my other tests are done while walking my dog and pointing my meter north or east-west because my view to the south is blocked but the view to the north is mostly open, above a field with cut-down weeds and a few tree lines in the distance greater than 500' distant. In those cases I usually see a reading of 1/3 stop below EV 15. The difference in this case could be just how clear is really clear (sky) but also that in the case of the higher reading I was on a pier, surrounded by water and the pier itself is light colored concrete. Why that would affect a narrowly focused reflective reading with the sun over my shoulder is not obvious to me. So, it's just more data, not necessarily an explanation.

Sadly, even though I had my RX10 with me, I also had my dog on a leash so I didn't compare camera to meter. I wish now that I had.

The bottom line for this overly long post is to provide food for thought about iPhone light metering apps. Ultimately, the phone takes excellently exposed pictures but that's not the point. I can only say that I doubt that I'd want to trust it without better verifications. You may, based on my report, want to be skeptical, too. It's consistent in my experience, but not necessarily giving the right numbers.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

There are two types of reflective meters that you can use, a spot meter or a meter that measures the light as a whole. There is as I am sure you know the incident exposure meter that will give you an accurate exposure for most of your subjects but it could prove to be useless if you are lets say in the shade and your subject in sunlight or vice versa. Incident meters are not very good for tele shots and totally useless for sunrises or sunsets.
The spot meter is very accurate but it requires expertise making the exposure on the part of the operator. Invaluable for monochromatic photography.

StanMac Loc: Tennessee

The Gossen LunaSix and LunaPro are good choices and you might luck out and get one that already has the battery adapter for 357 button cells (I did). I sent the LunaPro to Quality Light Metric to have it recalibrated to use 625 size batteries (3vdc instead of 2.7vdc). Even without the recalibration the meter is still usable by adjusting the ASA/DIN to compensate for the increased voltage. Compare the meter reading with a known good meter, like your digital camera, and note the adjustment needed. My LunaPro needed about 1 1/2 stops adjustment before the mods to correct for the voltage increase. I also acquired a nice Sekonic L248 that uses a 625 cell. You can get good results by adjusting it the same way. Both of these meters have a sliding diffuser that lets you use them as incident meters. I won these meters off shopgoodwill for less than $30 for the Gossens (the LunaPro looked like it had hardly been used) and about $12 for the Sekonic. Check the site daily till you find what you want then go for it. eBay currently has scores of meters available - some very affordable and many, not so much.

Stan